1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to a selective feeder and, in particular, to a selective bird feeder.
2. Related Art
A variety of selective feeders are known for selectively allowing entrance of animals of a selected size while restricting the entrance of animals that are larger than the selected size.
With respect to bird feeders, in particular, house finches and squirrels tend to dominate bird feeding or drinking areas, making it difficult, if not impossible for smaller, more timid birds such as the goldfinch and black-capped chickadee to participate. Thus, many attempts have been made to provide a bird feeder that allows relatively smaller birds, which are typically songbirds, access to a bird feeder, while restricting access to such feeders by relatively larger birds. In addition, due to the resourcefulness of squirrels in their attempts to access seed contained in feeders, many attempts have also been made to provide a “squirrel proof” bird feeder.
Attempts to deal with the problems of dominant or persistent birds and squirrels have not always been successful, and in some instances have resulted in other problems. For example, such feeders are generally larger and heavier than non-selective feeders. Such feeders may also be difficult to refill with seed, as they may require complicated disassembly and reassembly. For similar reasons, such feeders may be difficult to clean. The fact that such feeders are generally larger and heavier than non-selective feeders makes refilling and cleaning more cumbersome as well.
There remains a need in the art for an improved selective bird feeder.